Ever After
by darlingsybil
Summary: "Like all good stories, my dear, this one begins with once upon a time…" A young boy wishes for a bedtime story and so his mother begins to tell him of an epic tale involving princesses and princes, thieves and dragons, magic and as always, true love.


"Good night, my dear," the woman said, kissing her son's head. She was about to blow out the candle on his bedside table when he whimpered, "Can you tell me a story?"

"A story?" she chuckled. "I thought you were tired."

"I'm not sleepy," the little boy said, shaking his head. He sat up, propping his body onto his pillow and wiped his eyes. "Not sleepy at all," he yawned.

"I shall tell you a short story then," her mother replied. "What would you like to hear about?"

The boy shrugged.

"I know a story about a princess."

He groaned. "A princess?"

"Yes, a princes named Sybil."

"_Oh…_okay._"_

"Like all good stories, my dear, this one begins with once upon a time…"

* * *

In a kingdom far away, there was a princess who longed for an adventure.

For seventeen years of her life, all Princess Sybil knew of the world was what she learnt from inside her castle walls. Between lessons of etiquette and grooming, she would read books of distant lands where dragons roamed and pirates sailed the seas. She imagined fairies dancing in the fields or snoring giants causing the forests to shake. However, her daydreaming often brought her more trouble than she preferred.

"Sybil, Sybil, are you listening to what I'm saying?" the Dowager Queen said, stomping her cane on the floorboard. "Sybil!"

Sybil jolted at her grandmother's voice and turned away from the window. "Yes, of course, I was."

"And so _what_ did I just say?"

"Um…"

"Sybil, how will you ever be ready to rule if your head is in the clouds. Ever since the death of your parents, I have held the throne, hoping to have you ready to be a queen. With your sisters married to kings and ruling their own kingdoms, I thought you'd be proud to have your own."

"But Grandmama," Sybil started, only to be stopped by the Dowager's raised hand.

"Honestly, Sybil. The people need a queen who will take care of them. If you can't be a queen, you'd certainly hope that your betrothed will be a just king," the Dowager said.

Sybil cringed at the 'b' word. Since she was a baby, it had been decided that her kingdom would unite with a neighbouring country through marriage in hopes of strengthening their lands.

Unfortunately, the time had come that she been dreading. In a week's time, on her eighteenth birthday, she was to be wed to a man she hardly knew. True, the prince and her had met several times at balls and birthdays but as far as she was concerned, a dance or two was not enough to guarantee love. Every conversation that they had had, had bored her and for the remainder of the balls, she had hidden in the library, her nose in a book, reading tales of real love.

She believed deeply in love. The purest, truest kind. After all, her sisters had found it. Her eldest sister, Mary, had not been a believer. In fact, she was the exact opposite of Sybil. For years, Mary had been groomed to think that love was a privilege not a right. This had led her to nearly marry the Baron Carlisle, a ruthless man who was known for imposing harsh taxes on his people. Luckily, a prince from the south who admired her ardently, fought for her heart and when he defeated the evil baron, Mary realised that she was deserving of true love.

For her next sister, Edith, love came in the most surprising of forms. It had been common knowledge across the kingdom that Princess Edith was nothing like her sisters. Where Mary was considered beautiful, Edith was called plain. It was noted that Edith did not have her younger sister's passion and whilst the Dowager had thought that Edith would have made an adequate queen for the kingdom, they were all nonetheless surprised when she announced she was to wed King Anthony, a just ruler from across the seas. Many had thought it to be an act of surrender as the man was twice her age with a limp arm but when Sybil watched them, she could see the adoration in their eyes and knew that had her sister had finally found her happy ending.

"He arrives in the morning," the Dowager said, standing up and beginning to proceed out of the room. "And then the wedding celebrations can begin." As she was about to leave, she watched Sybil look out once more through the window at the night sky. There was no doubt in the Dowager's mind that Sybil would be a great queen. Her only wish was that Sybil would believe it as well. A good night sleep was what her granddaughter and she needed and as she shut the door to Sybil's room, she silently hoping that the prince's arrival would help Sybil realise her destiny.

Inside her room, Sybil watched the stars. She knew every constellation, every legend that inspired those constellations and yet the stars she had only seen were the stars outside her bedroom window. There was a world out there that she had yet to discover, more stars that she yet to gaze at. As a queen, she had a duty to her people and as a wife, she had a duty to her husband…but she was neither yet.

* * *

When the Dowager woke the next morning, she found a note on her bedside table that said in familiar handwriting: _My dearest Grandmama, I will be back before the wedding, I promise. But for now, even with the short time I have, I must see the world. Your darling Sybil._

"Oh my," the Dowager exclaimed, shaking her head. Just as she was about to ring frantically for her ladies maid, Anna entered the room, curtsying to the Dowager.

"Anna, thank goodness, you're here," the Dowager said, "we have a-"

"Your highness," Anna interrupted, "please don't think me rude but I must tell you of the urgent news we've just received."

The Dowager waved the note in the air. "I already know about the princess."

"I wasn't aware there was news concerning the princess," Anna said, confused. "It's to do with the prince. We received word that the prince's carriage left his kingdom much earlier than we though and I'm afraid, well – Prince Larry has arrived in the kingdom."

* * *

A/N: Yep, another story! Consider this my holiday story as everyone loves a good fairytale. Sorry for any mistakes, I'm trying to post this as quickly and will hopefully have it finished before Christmas. As always, I'd love to know what you guys think!


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